Steelrising can be very challenging and as such, knowing how to parry and counter can be extremely useful when dealing with some of the toughest enemies in the game. The setting for this game is quite unique as it takes place during an alternative-history French Revolution, in which players take on the role of Aegis, an automaton tasked with guarding Queen Marie Antoinette. As players progress in this fast and fluid soulslike game and start facing its strange enemies, they will find that Aegis cannot naturally parry, as they will have to find special weapons to enable her to do so.
Parrying and countering in Steelrising are essentially the same thing as being successful in the first will automatically trigger the latter. Unlike most other soulslikes, however, Aegis cannot parry by herself, and only certain weapons will enable her to perform this move. To find out if a weapon has this ability, players can open up their menu and navigate to a weapon to see if they have the Counterattack special move. If that is the case, then whenever players use the special move button in combat in this soulslike game, they will enter a defensive stance for a brief moment, and if an attack connects, Aegis will automatically counterattack.
Each weapon with the Counterattack special move will also have its own special counter. While some weapons counter-attack will inflict elemental or alchemical damage, others will instead interrupt enemies and throw them off balance. Some weapons that have the Counterattack special move include the Nemesis Fang and Claw, the Wheel of Vengeance, the Charleville Bayonet, and the Foil and Dagger.
How to Master Parrying in Steelrising
Learning how to parry can seem a bit daunting at first, but Steelrising's excellent hitboxes will have players that master this ability be able to use it very reliably. The best way to practice parrying in this underrated soulslike game is by trying it out on weaker enemies, as failing and getting hit will be less punishing. The parry window of most weapons lasts approximately half a second, and it must be timed to when the hit connects with Aegis. A big part of successfully parrying doesn't necessarily come from reacting to an enemy swing but instead anticipating it or even trying to bait it. As players get familiar with Steelrising and its enemies, they will start learning their moves and which are easier to parry. In some instances, players can even bait some attacks, by moving closer or farther from an enemy as this can trigger specific moves.
Sources: News Update